Samsung Galaxy S5 comes in March or April with new design, possible iris recognition, Gear 2

The Samsung Galaxy S5 won’t come earlier in the year than the S4 did in 2013. This comes to contradict some previous reports that spoke of the Korean company wanting to rush its next flagship’s release because of dwindling sales of the Galaxy S4.

However, this bit of info comes straight from Samsung’s executive vice president for the mobile business Lee Young Hee. She spoke to Bloomberg and said that the company isn’t planning on changing its ways, thus the S5 should be launched in March or April. It’s unclear whether she was talking about the announcement’s time frame or that of the actual release in stores.

Samsung interestingly noticed that the Galaxy S4 was perceived by consumers to be too similar to the S3 thanks to its similar looks, and so we should expect the S5 to be completely different. With the S4, Samsung went with improving a familiar design, but that backfired – despite the massive spec improvements in all departments compared to its predecessor, it was still thought to be a minor update, and this solely based on looks.

For the new design of the Galaxy S5, Samsung is going to focus on the screen and “the feel of the cover”, which makes us think that we might see the faux-leather finish that debuted on the Galaxy Note 3 and has since made its way to the Pro line of tablets recently unveiled. That is, of course, if Samsung will keep using plastic. It could also decide to go with metal for the S5’s back, as has been rumored countless times so far.

The Korean giant is considering using iris recognition in the Galaxy S5, but whether or not it actually will do that hasn’t been decided yet.

Alongside the Galaxy S5, Samsung will introduce the successor to the Galaxy Gear smartwatch that was announced in September at the same time as the Galaxy Note 3. The Gear 2 will have some unnamed “more advanced” functions compared to its predecessor, and the company rep is saying that “the bulky design will also be improved”.

The new Gear won’t be the only wearable device that Samsung will release this year, with something else scheduled to come before 2014 is over. What, though, remains a mystery.

The Galaxy Note 4 could get a three-sided wraparound display, allowing for notifications and messages to be read from the screen’s sides. This mirrors a concept previously shown by Samsung, and it would use a bent touchscreen just like the one in the Galaxy Round (though bent differently, of course). However, it’s unclear whether this possibility has been shared by Lee, or it’s just speculation. The Samsung VP is only quoted as saying “we are targeting consumers who want more professional use and tend to be willing to pay more for handsets” about the Galaxy Note line.